Diana Merry
Encyclopedia
Diana Merry-Shapiro was a computer programmer for the Learning Research Group of Xerox PARC
in the 1970s and 1980s, after having originally been hired as a secretary. As one of the original developers of the Smalltalk
programming language, she wrote the first system for overlapping display windows
. Merry was also one of the co-inventors of the BitBLT ('bit block transfer') routines for Smalltalk, subroutines for performing computer graphics
operations quickly which were pivotal in the evolution of user interface
s from text-based computing to graphical user interface
s.
As of 2003, Merry-Shapiro was still using Smalltalk as an employee of Suite LLC, a financial consulting firm.
Xerox PARC
PARC , formerly Xerox PARC, is a research and co-development company in Palo Alto, California, with a distinguished reputation for its contributions to information technology and hardware systems....
in the 1970s and 1980s, after having originally been hired as a secretary. As one of the original developers of the Smalltalk
Smalltalk
Smalltalk is an object-oriented, dynamically typed, reflective programming language. Smalltalk was created as the language to underpin the "new world" of computing exemplified by "human–computer symbiosis." It was designed and created in part for educational use, more so for constructionist...
programming language, she wrote the first system for overlapping display windows
Window (computing)
In computing, a window is a visual area containing some kind of user interface. It usually has a rectangular shape that can overlap with the area of other windows...
. Merry was also one of the co-inventors of the BitBLT ('bit block transfer') routines for Smalltalk, subroutines for performing computer graphics
Computer graphics
Computer graphics are graphics created using computers and, more generally, the representation and manipulation of image data by a computer with help from specialized software and hardware....
operations quickly which were pivotal in the evolution of user interface
User interface
The user interface, in the industrial design field of human–machine interaction, is the space where interaction between humans and machines occurs. The goal of interaction between a human and a machine at the user interface is effective operation and control of the machine, and feedback from the...
s from text-based computing to graphical user interface
Graphical user interface
In computing, a graphical user interface is a type of user interface that allows users to interact with electronic devices with images rather than text commands. GUIs can be used in computers, hand-held devices such as MP3 players, portable media players or gaming devices, household appliances and...
s.
As of 2003, Merry-Shapiro was still using Smalltalk as an employee of Suite LLC, a financial consulting firm.